


Call Me Maybe?

by sve_aph



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Human AU, M/M, Telephone Surveyor AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-30
Updated: 2015-05-01
Packaged: 2018-03-20 08:07:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3642900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sve_aph/pseuds/sve_aph
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's easy to make friends when you can simply hang up if things get rough.<br/>Raivis is a socially awkward highschooler who thrives on the attention of a college surveyor who is calling for his brother, Toris. (Honestly, it's super cute and you won't understand that unless you read it) </p><p>Mainly EstLat, with SuFin, NorIce, PruCan, and LietPol mentioned in the background.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize if any of the characters are somewhat out of character. I tried, so that's that. Critiques are appreciated.  
> The familial relationships in this are pretty confusing, so don't overthink it.  
> I know the language in this is a bit awkward at first, but it gets better and I'm trying to fix it so please hang in there for me.

**Monday, June 7 th. 12:30 p.m. Galante Household.**

_Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg!_

“H-hello?”

“Hello, this is Eduard from Louisiana Tech University. I’m calling to take a survey of people ages 18 to 42. Is there anyone available I may speak to?” I blinked, once in surprise and then again in excitement. _Heck yeah!_ It was the first call of summer. I checked the clock- 12:30 sharp. This was going to be awesome.

“Oh sure, just hold on a sec- wait, never mind. Sorry. My parents are too old and I’m too young. My brother is like, 19, which fits. But he’s not here. Actually, he’s never here. Sorry. Oh well. How’re you today?” I loved talking to the poor summer interns who always called. There was no pressure, no way of them ever knowing who you were. The nervousness that usually laced my every action in real life could be discarded almost completely and I could simply be myself.

“Um… I’m fine, thank you. Well, I’ll just-”

“Call back later, right? Cool. Talk to you tomorrow!” and then I hung up on him. Eduard, wasn’t it? Oh, this was going to be a fun summer.

* * *

**Tuesday, June 8 th. 12:30 p.m. Galante Household.**

_Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg!_

_“_ Hello?”

“Hello, this is-”

“Hey Eduard! This is Raivis! Remember me? Oh wait, I don’t think I ever told you my name. Whoops. Oh well. My name is Raivis. Anyways, there’s still nobody here for you to survey because it’s still just me. It’s going to be that way for a while. This _is_ Eduard, right?” I stopped for a moment, insensibly worried. It’d be really awkward if it was anybody _but_ him.

“Y-yeah. This is Eduard,” he responded.

“Oh. Cool. I was just checking, because it would really suck if it wasn’t you. I mean, I was pretty sure, but it could also be Feliks, my brother’s boyfriend. He calls sometimes to talk to Toris even though Toris doesn’t even really live here anymore. I don’t think Feliks really cares though because he just keeps talking until I hang up on him. Honestly, I’m pretty sure he keeps talking even then.” Gosh, I kinda felt bad for this guy, having to listen to me ramble on like this.

“Your _brother_ has a _boyfriend_?” Eduard gasped, and I could image his jaw dropping.

“Yeah, he does, and if you’ve got a problem with it then you can just go be stupid somewhere else because that’s stupid,” I declared. I was surprised when he only laughed.

“No, no, that’s fine, I was just surprised. Most people aren’t so open about it.” I shrugged, even though I knew he couldn’t see me.

“My family is a little strange. Anyways, I know you probably have a list of people you have to call before you’re allowed to go home so I’ll let you get to it now. Bye, Eduard!” and then I hung up.

* * *

 

**Wednesday, June 9 th. 12:30 p.m. Galante Household.**

_Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg!_

“ _Sveiki_ , Eduard! How are you today?” I greeted excitedly

“ _Es esmu labi, paldies._ ” I literally fell off the couch with a girlish shriek at his response. “Raivis! Are you okay?” He called worriedly.

“You speak Latvian?” I demanded. I had never met someone outside my family who spoke my native language.

“Only a little. I used to live in Estonia, and I spent a semester in Latvia for a school exchange project,” Eduard explained.

“That is _awesome_! My family moved from Latvia like seven years ago and there is absolutely _nobody_ here that speaks the language. It’s so annoying and my brother, Toris, he’s actually adopted from Lithuania so he doesn’t speak it very well, he only speaks Lithuanian. ‘Cept _now_ apparently he’s learning Polish because Feliks is Polish. You see what that means? That means he wasn’t willing to learn a language for his _brother_ but he is willing to learn a language for his _boyfriend_? I mean, what the heck? Bros before hoes, man!” I was cut off from my rant when Eduard burst out laughing. I frowned, trying to decide whether to be offended or not.

“Raivis, did you learn Lithuanian on account of your brother being from Lithuania?”

“Well… no,” I grumbled.

“Then stop blaming him for doing the same thing. I think you’re just lonely, aren’t you? Don’t take that out on… Toris, was it? Just be glad he’s found someone that makes him happy.” Well dang this guy was smart. I hadn’t heard such logical advice in years.

“Umm… thanks, I guess. I probably really needed to hear that. Anyways, you probably have to go, right? Talk to you tomorrow then! _Ardievas!_ ”

“ _Hüvasti_!”

* * *

 

**Thursday, June 10 th. 12:30 p.m. Galante Household.**

_Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg!_

“ _Tere,_ Eduard! Guess what I did today!”

“You googled how to say ‘hello’ in Estonian,” he replied drily, “and _tere_ to you too.”

“Haha yes, I did. I also measured myself again and I think I’m a whole centimeter taller than I was yesterday!” I exclaimed happily.

“Do you measure yourself every day?” Eduard asked incredulously.

“Well… yeah,” I admitted reluctantly, “but it’s only because I’m really short.”

“Oh, I doubt you’re as short as you think you are. Everybody has that stage. Just wait for your growth spurt.”

“I’m fifteen years old and I’m only 4’5,” I stated flatly, “I’m pretty sure most guys don’t go through that. I’m a midget.” There was a moment of awkward scuffling sounds from his end and after a moment I realized he was laughing at me. “Hey! That’s so not cool, Eduard!”

“I’m sorry, Raivis, but that’s adorable.” I scowled in response. I didn’t _want_ to be adorable.

“Well, _excuse me_ then,” I said, sarcasm heavily lacing my words, “but how tall are _you_?”

“About 5’8.”

“Ugggh,” I groaned. “Why does everybody have to be so much taller than me?” And you know what he did? He just kept on laughing. That jerkface.

“Well, anyways, I should probably get going. I have a lot of people left on my list to call,” Eduard explained.

“Alright. Talk to you tomorrow, then. Bye!”

* * *

 

**Friday, June 11 th. 12:30 p.m. Galante Household.**

I checked the clock worriedly for the nth time. Why hadn’t Eduard called yet? Did he get tired of me? Maybe they aren’t supposed to call if it’s clear that they aren’t ever going to reach someone in the age group they’re looking for. Maybe he just didn’t want to bother pretending to like me anymore. It wouldn’t be the first time. Plenty of people had given up on being my friend in the past. But mostly that was because of my size, not my personality. Oh well. It didn’t matter, did it? I had always known that someone like him would never truly like someone like me.

* * *

**Friday, June 11 th. 12:38 p.m. Galante Household.**

_Rrriinnngg!_

“Oh my gosh Eduard thank goodness I was afraid you weren’t going to call me today! You know you’re eight minutes late, right? I was afraid maybe you had assignments to stop calling after a certain number of strike outs. Or maybe I’ve just been annoying you beyond belief and you didn’t want to talk to me anymore.” My voice wavered embarrassingly at the end of my spiel and I brought a hand up to wipe away the tears that had pooled in my eyes.

“Raivis, Raivis, Raivis. Calm down. I was a couple minutes late because someone actually took the survey today. I have no instructions to stop calling after a certain number of calls. So I’m going to keep calling all summer as long as you’re the only one home. And to be honest, I’m glad, because you seem to brighten my day quite a bit.” What? That meant… he actually liked me? He liked talking to me and wasn’t just tolerating my presence the way everybody else did? For some reason, I could feel my heart stumble and trip over itself.

“Really?” I swear, if he was just screwing with me, I was going to cry. Again.

“I promise. You see, most people I talk to during the day are either remarkably rude or remarkably polite. Either way, it gets incredibly droll after about fifteen minutes. There are some people who I’m quite sure say the exact same response every time I call. It’s awful. But you don’t do that. And I like it,” Eduard explained. I’m pretty sure I deflated at that, the wind taken right out of my sails. He only liked me in comparison to how boring the other people were. That was… surprisingly disappointing.

“I like talking to surveyors on the phone. It’s safe. I can be who I am without worrying because I’ll never meet you so it doesn’t really matter in the end,” I said bitterly.

“What? Oh…” was the quiet response. “Well… I have to go now. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Raivis. Bye.”

“Bye,” I whispered, wondering what had gone wrong.

* * *

**Saturday, June 12 th. 12:30 p.m. Galante Household.**

I checked the clock worriedly for the nth time. Why hadn’t Eduard called yet? Did he get tired of me?

This inner monologue had become frustratingly familiar.

* * *

**Sunday, June 13 th. 12:30 p.m. Galante Household.**

Well, that was it. He stopped calling me. Why did he have to go and reassure me only to break my heart the next day? I hadn’t thought he was cruel, but I guess I was wrong.

* * *

 

**Translations**

_Sveiki_ \- Hello (Latvian)

_Es, esmu labi, paldies_ \- I'm fine, thanks (Latvian)

_Ardievas_ \- Goodbye (Latvian)

_Hüvasti_ \- Goodbye (Estonian)

_Tere_ \- Hello (Estonian)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arthur is Peter and Alfred's dad. Arthur is somehow related to Berwald, who is Matthew's older brother. Peter often spends the summer at his (not-really) uncle's house, which is how he met Raivis, who is Berwald's neighbor. Tino is Berwald' boyfriend, so he knows Matthew, Raivis, and Peter from spending time at Berwald's house.
> 
> Also, I will fix Sweden's speech soon. When I have time. I'm sorry.

**Monday, June 14 th. 12:30 p.m. Galante Household.**

_Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg! Rrri-_

“H-hello?” I answered the phone cautiously. I hadn’t expected it to ring.

“Hey… Raivis? Are you there?” What? Who knew my name? It wasn’t Peter, was it?

“W-who is this?”

“Oh… Hello, this is Eduard from Louisiana Tech University. I’m calling to-“

“Wait, Eduard? Is that you?” What was going on? I thought he had stopped calling!

“Um… yeah… who else would it be?”

“B-but! Eduard! You stopped calling! Why- why are you calling me?”

“Oh, Raivis. Do you know what day it is?”

“Um… Monday? I think?” Why was he being so casual? This was a _big deal_!

“So that makes yesterday…?” he prompted. I scowled, but played along.

“Sunday. But I don’t see how that- oh. _Oh._ ” I felt like a complete fool.

“Yeah. I don’t work on the weekends.”

“I… I didn’t think about that.”

“I noticed.” I couldn’t take it anymore and simply burst into tears. “Hey, don’t worry. It’s okay. I’m not going to leave you,” Eduard murmured, trying to calm me down. I nodded, not caring that he couldn’t see me. I wasn’t really upset at all anymore, I had just put myself through a lot of emotional stress over the past few days and it had built up and needed an outlet.

“I’m fine, really I am. I just… I missed you,” I whispered, embarrassed. I had only known this guy for about a week now and I had already gotten attached. He must’ve thought I was a wreck.

“Raivis, tell me about your friends,” Eduard commanded suddenly. Hastily drying my eyes, I did my best to respond.

“I… I don’t think I have any friends. When I was in elementary school I tried to make some friends but they got frustrated because they didn’t like being seen with a ‘child’. They knew I was the same age as them but others didn’t necessarily know that. It happened every time, with every new group of friends. Everybody was too embarrassed. There’s a kid who lives down the street from me who says I’m his best friend. That’s probably true, but he’s three years younger than me and he’s really annoying. I’d really rather not be associated with him. And he’s even shorter than I am, which really doesn’t help the ‘little kid’ image,” I explained, even more humiliated by my social failures.

“Hmmm… well no wonder you’re so sensitive about your height then,” he commented. _No, really?_ I thought sarcastically.

“Yeah. Can I ask you something?”

“Go for it.”

“Alright, I-”

_“Mr. von Bock? You aren’t on a personal call during work hours, are you?”_ An unfamiliar voice broke in on Eduard’s line.

_“N-no, of course not, Mr. Braginski! This is a client!”_ Eduard assured quickly. I tried to muffle my snicker, but I quite fairly failed.

_“Are you sure? That doesn’t sound like a client.”_

_“N-no I promise it is wait what are you-”_ Click.

I sighed. Oh well. It was kind of my fault he got kicked off anyways.

“Bye, Eduard. You’d better still call me tomorrow.”

* * *

 

**Tuesday, June 15 th. 12:30 p.m. Galante Household.**

_Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg!_

“Hello!”

“Hey, Raivis! How are you?”

“Good! Sorry I got you in trouble yesterday,” I said sheepishly.

“Ah, don’t worry about it,” Eduard laughed, “it’s worth it.” _You’re worth it._

“O-oh. Alright then.”

“Didn’t you want to ask me something yesterday?”

“What? Oh, yeah. What is your family like?”

“Well, I live with my dad. My mother died when I was very young and I have no memory of her. I don’t have any siblings. My dad is very kind, but he’s quiet and shy, even with me. We’ve never been extremely close,” Eduard explained.

“That’s… kinda sad, isn’t it?

“I know it sounds sad, but really I’m fine. It gives me the opportunity to focus on my studies and pursue my individual interests. My friends are really more family to me. One of them, Katyusha, actually got me this internship because her brother works in the administration.”

“Don’t you have a girlfriend or something?” I asked.

“Nah. Remember when you asked me if I had a problem with your brother being gay?”

“Yeah. You said you were fine with it,” I said cautiously, wondering where he was going with this.

“That’s because I’m actually gay myself,” he explained. Oh. _Oh._ My cheeks burned red as my mind ran wild.

“So you have a boyfriend instead?” I continued, fervently hoping not.

“No, I don’t have a boyfriend either.” Thank goodness.

“Why not?”

“Why so curious?”

“N-no reason,” I assured quickly, blushing again.

“I’m just teasing you, Raivis,” he laughed. That bastard. “Like I’ve said before, most Southerners aren’t exactly out of the closet. Nobody’s running around exuding rainbows.” I giggled at that. “But that’s all probably for the best anyways. I don’t really have time for a boyfriend.” Oh. Well, that was just too bad. He was going to have to _make_ time for one. Specifically me. Even though he kinda already did that.

…

I did _not_ just think that.

…

“W-well, that’s kinda sad too. Don’t you think you’d go out with someone you really liked even if you didn’t have much time?” I prompted. Hmmm. Maybe I should try to pull off of this topic.

“If they were willing to work with my schedule, then maybe.” I was willing to work with his schedule. _Very_ willing. “I haven’t really liked too many people so far.” Well crap. He had standards. I didn’t work too well with standards. For _anything_. Below standard height, below standard weight. I had just never been up to standard. “I have a lot of pressure over my head to succeed in everything I do. I graduated high school a year early and was granted a scholarship to Louisiana Tech, so if I don’t do perfectly in, well, everything, then everyone will think I’m just another failure they shouldn’t have wasted their money on.” Whoa. So he was _really_ smart then.

“I wouldn’t think you’re a failure,” I mumbled, pouting on his behalf.

“Well, thank yo- oh, crap. My boss is coming around. Talk to you tomorrow!” He said suddenly, hanging up. I gave a gusty sigh, deciding that I _really_ didn’t like his boss.

* * *

 

**Wednesday, June 16 th. 12:30 p.m. Galante Household.**

_Rrriinnngg!_

“Eduard!”

“Hello, Raivis.”

“What do you do when you’re not talking to me?” I asked.

“I work, mostly.” Ugh. What a dull answer. I needed _entertainment_ , dang it!

“No, really. I work two jobs, and I also have summer classes. That doesn’t leave me with much free time,” Eduard insisted.

“Oh,” I sighed, plopping down on the couch, “then, in your oh-so-rare free time, what do you do?”

“Well, sometimes I work on personal projects- programming, mostly. If I can’t find any motivation for that, I’ll read. On occasion my friends will drag me out to socialize.”

“Eduard, you are a supreme nerd,” I declared.

“Yes, I know,” he laughed. “What about you, Raivis? What do you do in your seemingly expansive free time?”

“Ugh, I don’t even know. My so-called ‘friend’ Peter drags me around a lot, but all he ever does is bother the nearby adults, which is, quite frankly, annoying as heck. I feel like I daydream often. Can that even be considered a hobby? Sometimes I do puzzles by myself,” I explained, once again feeling pretty pathetic about my life.

“Hmm… no wonder you’re always so excited to talk to me,” he mused.

“And ‘cause you’re pretty awesome,” I chirped. He hummed half-heartedly in response. “Hey Eduard, what’s your favorite color?”

“You are just full of questions, aren’t you? And it’s blue,” he replied.

“Well, what kind of guy doesn’t know his best friends favorite color?” I joked.

There was silence on the other end before a curt “I have to go.” And then the line went dead.

* * *

 

**Thursday, June 17 th. 11:30 a.m. Galante Household.**

_Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg!_

“Um… Hello?” I said cautiously. I didn’t think it was Eduard because if it was, he was a whole hour early.

“…’lo? Raiv’s? Y’ there?” I sighed in understanding. It was just Berwald, my neighbor.

“Oh, hi Mr. Oxenstierna. How can I help you?”

“… ‘m goin’ ‘t wi’ m’ fr’nd… ah don’ wan’ P’tr comin’ wi’. Can ah bring ‘im t’ your house tomorr’w?”

“Yeah, definitely. What time?” As much as I didn’t like spending time with Peter, his uncle was actually really nice and I would never do anything to inconvenience him. It helped that Mr. Oxenstierna was also incredibly scary, of course.

“… ‘round noon?” I nodded in agreement.

“Alright. See you then.”

“…G’bye,” Berwald muttered before hanging up. I frowned a little. Peter would probably be here when Eduard called.

* * *

 

**Friday, June 18 th. 12:30 p.m. Galante Household. **

“Hei, Raivis!”

“Oh, hey Tino.” I wasn’t surprised to see the short blonde there with Berwald and Peter. Whenever Berwald said he was ‘goin’ ‘t wi’ m’ fr’nd’, it was always Tino. However, I _was_ surprised at the time they had gotten there. Berwald had said noon, and it was 12:30. Eduard would be calling any moment now!

As if on cue, the phone started ringing.

_Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg!_

“Oh, I can get that!” Tino exclaimed excitedly, like a child at Christmas. And before I could protest, he had answered the phone and was chattering away.

“Oh, hei Eduard! I didn’t know you had a _job_! You should have told me! … Hey, I can take your survey! Then you won’t have to bother Raivis anymore! … Okei, yes … no … well, maybe … okei, see you Saturday! Bye!” And then Tino turned to me with a huge smile. “I actually knew that surveyor. Eduard and I were friends in high school. We get together every other weekend. Now you don’t have to talk to him anymore! I know he can be awkward, so I’m glad I got that survey out of your hands.”

I could only stare at him in horror.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I really like this chapter.   
> Get excited- this is where we introduce Canada and Finland, and they're /awesome/.

**Monday, June 21 st. 12:25 p.m. Galante Household.**

I sat on the couch with the phone in my hand, deep in heavy contemplation. I had gone through the weekend with a thin, bitter hope that Eduard would still call me. I knew it was unlikely, but then at the same time, of course he would call. Eduard always called. He never failed to.

Bu then again… the last time we had spoken he had hung up on me. To him, I was probably just some pathetic, creepy little stalker kid. He probably never wanted to see me again. Now that he had an excuse to avoid me, I would never hear his voice again.

_Rrriinnngg!_

I stared at the phone in shock.

What the heck?

_Rrriinnngg!_

Quickly drying the tears I hadn’t noticed accumulating in the corners of my eyes, I pressed the Talk button.

“H-hello?”

“Hey, Raivis!”

“Eduard? What are you- why are you calling? I had assumed you would stop once Tino answered your survey!”

“Well, yeah, but… yeah, no, you’re right. I forgot. I won’t be bothering you anymore.” Eduard’s voice was suddenly cold, and I shivered. “Goodbye, Raivis.”

And there was silence.

* * *

 

**Saturday, June 26 th. 12:00 p.m. Galante Household. **

“Hey Raivis, why are you being so much weirder than usual? I mean, normally you’re quiet, but now you’re _really_ quiet. And you keep carrying that phone around. Did you start a relationship with it or something? I wouldn’t put it past you,” Peter commented bluntly.

“N-no, of course not!” I protested weakly. Peter stared at me in surprise.

“You mean you _did_ start a relationship with your phone?”

“No! I didn’t!”

“Oh. So then you started a relationship with someone over the phone?”

“Why do you keep assuming I started a relationship?” I exclaimed, exasperated.

“You didn’t deny it. And last time you acted like this it was because Toris started dating Feliks and therefore spending less time with you. I already asked him, and he said that nothing has happened on his side. That means you’re lacking attention from some other corner (since it’s most certainly not mine). That leads to some significant other- but if it’s a _lack_ of attention, then you have broken up with her. However, it’s more likely that _you_ were dumped by _her_ since you are keeping the phone with you, waiting for her to call you back.”

“ _Him_ ,” I corrected sullenly, completely ignoring the fact that Peter had just spit out a pretty good in-depth analysis of my life, which meant he actually paid attention to me so maybe he really was my friend. I preferred the theory that he was just some creepy stalker kid.

Not that I could really talk.

At all.

Maybe I’d be nicer to Peter in the future.

“ _Him_? What? Hah, you’re gay?! That’s awesome! Come on man, tell me all about it!” I sighed. There was the normal Peter again. There was no getting around him.

“We were never actually in a relationship,” I began, only to be interrupted (once again) by Peter.

“But you wanted to be, right?”

“Well, yeah, of course. He’s perfect.” It’s funny how with each passing moment I realize just how deep in I am.

“Really? What’s he look like?” I paused, then blushed and looked away. After a moment, Peter understood.

“What?! You haven’t even _met_ him and you’re pining over him? What the heck, Raivis? That’s downright pitiful!”

“I know, I know,” I grumbled. “You don’t have to tell me. Now will you let me tell the story?”

“Yeah, yeah, go ahead,” Peter urged. I groaned.

“Well… his name is Eduard. He works at Louisiana Tech and called the house for a survey. I didn’t fit the age group for the survey so he said he would call back the next day. Of course, I was never the right age group, but he had to keep calling, and we started talking. We only talked for about two weeks, but I can’t help myself.

“On Friday, he called, like he always does. But… this time Tino was there with you and Berwald, and he answered the phone. Apparently he is friends with Eduard. Anyways, Tino took the survey, so Eduard didn’t have a reason to call anymore. He called on Monday, but he hung up when he realized he no longer had obligations to contact me.”

“Well. That really sucks.”

* * *

 

Summer passed in a strange manner. Peter and I actually became pretty close. Instead of ignoring him as I always had, I began listening to what Peter had to say. It turned out that the kid was really pretty intelligent for his age. To be honest, we had a lot of fun together in that remaining month.

But nothing could really keep my mind off Eduard. It was all too common for me to trail off and get lost in my own little world. Peter did his best to keep me distracted, but we both knew he was failing.

Peter returned to his dad’s house at the end of July, as he only stayed with his uncle (Berwald) for the summer.

School began with the second week of August. I ended up meeting Matthew, who was Peter’s cousin. We ran into each other while hiding in the library, both trying to avoid getting trampled, seeing as we were both largely invisible to the majority of the school population.

It was the first weekend after school started and we already had an AP World History test. Matthew had suggested we get together after school to study. I had agreed, and offered my house as a host location.

However, when we stepped off my bus and walked into the house, Peter was there to greet us.

“Hey Raivis! Oh, and hey, Matthew!” Peter greeted excitedly, his eyes wide. “Wait… are you guys friends?”

“Um… yeah?” I replied cautiously. Matthew smiled and nodded. Peter squealed loudly and ran out the door. We both stared after him, thoroughly bewildered. “Should I be worried about him?” I finally asked.

“No. He’ll just call Berwald and have him pick ‘em up. Peter’s staying at my house for the weekend,” Matthew said.

“I was talking about his sanity, but that works too.”

“Now, shall we get started?”

* * *

 

**Friday, August 6 th. 7:00 p.m. Oxenstierna Household. Matthew’s POV.**

“…W’lc’me home, Matt. D’nner’s on tha t’ble,” Berwald greeted. I smiled at my older brother and helped myself to the food.

“Thanks, Ber,” I said quietly.

“…’ow w’s your date?” he grunted. I rolled my eyes.

“It wasn’t a date. Raivis and I were just studying.” Honestly, every time I made a friend he assumed we liked each other. Just because that’s how it was for him and Tino didn’t mean that’s how it was for me. Besides, Raivis was too cute for me to be attracted to him. If I ever dated, I would have to be the cute one in the relationship.

“…Oh,” Berwald grunted in disappointment.

“Hey hey hey are you guys talking about Raivis? I need to talk to you about Raivis!” Peter exclaimed, barreling into the room, hyper as ever.

“Oh?” I questioned softly.

“Yeah, I do!” he continued, “So, apparently, over the summer, Raivis fell in love with this surveyor named Eduard on the phone. Raivis never took the survey so they talked every day. But then one day, Tino was around, so he got the phone and answered it. So then Eduard and Raivis no longer had an excuse to talk so Eduard stopped calling and now Raivis is heartbroken. I’ve been trying to figure out how to fix it, but since you’re his friend now too, you can help me.” I blinked, quickly processing the information.

“Um… alright. Give me a minute. I think I may have an idea,” I said, and Peter nodded. I sighed. Hmm…

I had worked as a summer intern relaying surveys once. I had gotten fired after a couple weeks into when the manager got frustrated with how soft-spoken I was (and still am), but I had been around long enough to understand how it worked.

Generally, the rule was that if you had called every day for a week and it was clear that there would never be someone available to survey, then you were supposed to stop calling.

“Do you know how long they talked?” I asked.

“Something like two weeks. I don’t know how long they spent on the phone each day, if that’s what you’re asking,” Peter replied. I nodded.

So if Eduard had called Raivis for two weeks then it was most likely that he was ignoring the typical policy in order to do so. Eduard probably liked Raivis back, at least as a friend if nothing else. The fact that he had stopped calling the way he had meant that there was probably some sort of misunderstanding between him and Raivis, but I couldn’t ask Raivis without him getting suspicious, and I couldn’t really talk to Eduard, since I didn’t actually know him. But Tino did.

“Hey Berwald, is Tino coming over for dinner tonight?” I wondered. Berwald had been listening to the conversation, so he probably knew where I was going with this.

“…No. He’s drinkin’ wi’ Eduard t’night. He’ll be here t’morr’w, though,” Berwald explained. I smiled.

“That’s even better.”

* * *

 

**Friday, August 6 th. 8:30 p.m. Väinämöinen Household. Tino’s POV. **

“Tino, I don’t know what I’m doing with my life,” Eduard announced tiredly. I glanced around at the various vodka glasses around us in order to hide my vaguely evil smile. He had finally consumed enough alcohol to loosen his tongue so I could find out what had been bothering him! I mean, we never really got drunk- I didn’t think it was possible to be honest, but we did usually get a little tipsy. It was just yet another reason that we always drank at each other’s houses, instead of at a bar- that and the fact that we were both still underage.

“What do you mean, Eduard? I thought you had your major planned out since like 7th grade!” I exclaimed. Please please please make him tell me. I wanted to know!

“I’m so lonely.” What was he talking about? Oooh was he having love issues? I resisted the urge to clap my hands like a giddy child. Gosh, it was all just so exciting!

“But I thought I was your friend!” I cried, letting out a few crocodile tears. Eduard only smiled, all too used to my antics.

“You know you are. I just…”

“You just what?” I demanded.

“I met this guy.” Ooh goody it’s practically Christmas! I had been waiting for Eduard to admit that he was gay for the longest time and now he’s found a boyfriend without my help?

“Eduard!! I’m so happy! Good job! Congratulations! This is so exciting!” I squealed, tackling him in a hug. “Hey, do you think you guys could go on double dates with me and Berwald? We tried going with Lukas and Emil, but they don’t talk very much and it’s almost as if they’re not there,” I whined.

“T-Tino! W-we’re not going out!”

“What?” I widened my eyes, trying to look as innocent as possible even as the plans for Eduard’s future raced into gear. “Who’s not going out? And hey, do you bottom? I need to know who will be wearing the wedding dress. You’d look pretty in a dress, did you know that, Eduard? Oooh, or you could just both wear a dress. I mean, of course, you could also both wear tuxes, but where’s the fun in that? And for colors, we’ll have white- we have to stick to _some_ tradition- and dark blue for you, and maybe some maroon to compliment it? Oh, I don’t know! There’s so many things to decide! Eduard, say something! This is your _wedding_!” I exclaimed.

“TINO!”

“What?” I squeaked, settling back into my chair. Eduard’s face was bright red, and I couldn’t tell if he was angry or embarrassed. Maybe it was both.

“Nobody. Is. Getting. Married! Do you understand?”

“Why not? I thought you said you met this guy and you fell in love with him and you went on a couple dates with him and then you proposed and now you’re getting married?” Sometimes it was so hard to understand Eduard. How could I have possibly misunderstood a statement like that?

“No, Tino. I said I met a guy. That’s it.” Oh. Well that’s too bad. Oh well. I wasn’t going to scrap my plans just because Eduard got all huffy about it. I would just have to fit Eduard’s life into my plans. I would _make_ him fall in love with this guy, I would _make_ him go out with him, and I would _make_ him propose. And by golly, this guy’s favorite color had better be maroon.

“You’re such a party pooper,” I grumbled. Eduard laughed.

“Do you want to hear about it or not?”

“No! No no no I’ll be good I promise I’ll listen!”

“Alright. Well. I met this guy. Kinda. At least, I talked to him on the phone. I’ve never actually met him. Anyways, I had called to survey him for Louisiana Tech.”

“Which you didn’t tell me you had a job at, thanks very much best friend,” I grouched. Eduard raised an eyebrow at me. “Sorry I’m sorry you’re right I said I wouldn’t interrupt I’m sorry please don’t stop telling the story go on, Eduard.”

“He was a… strange kid, to say the least.”

“ _Kid?_ Since when are you a pedophile?”

“Tino, would you please just _shut up_ and let me speak?”

“Okei, okei I’m sorry!”

“But, he was more interesting than anyone I ever seemed to talk to. Within a couple days, I had started looking forward to speaking with him. It was weird, because I would think about him, but I had no image to associate with him. It didn’t really matter though. Just his personality was enough.

“Anyways, we talked for maybe two weeks? I’m not sure. And then someone was at his house and answered the phone for him. I’m pretty sure he asked them to, so that he wouldn’t have to talk to me anymore. I had thought that he liked me, and I adore him, so I called back the next Monday anyways. But… I was wrong. The way he spoke- it was clear he was hoping that I wouldn’t call back. So I hung up. And I haven’t heard from him since.”

“But but but that can’t be right!” I protested, “surely you just misunderstood him! You have to call him again, and see! He can’t call you, so you have to do it!”

“I can’t, though. I… I don’t think I’d be able to handle it if I was right- if he rejected me again.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Saturday, August 7 th. 4:50 p.m. Oxenstierna Household. Tino’s POV.**

“…’lo, Tino.”

“Hei, Berwald!” I greeted excitedly, bouncing in for the hug I knew was waiting for me. “Oh, and hei to you as well, Matthew,” I continued, belatedly noticing my boyfriend’s younger sibling.

“Hello, Tino. Hey, can I talk to you about something?” Matthew replied. I blinked once before quickly agreeing.

“What do you need?” Matthew and I had always gotten along, but we didn’t really talk too often. I was sure that we would hang out more when we started planning Berwald and my’s wedding- that is, once he proposed. Ooh, and maybe he could also help me plan Eduard’s wedding? That would be so much fun!

“I-I wanted to ask you- Well… you’re friends with Eduard, right?” Matthew began.

“Oh! You know Eduard? He’s my best friend! I was just talking to him yesterday!”

“Y-yeah, I know. Berwald told me.” Oh. Well that was kinda weird, but it was also kinda cute that Berwald knew where I was and who I was with every second of the day. Kinda.

“Okei, so then why did you ask?”

“Well… I know someone who is friends with him. Other than you, that is. At least, they used to be friends. Apparently there was some sort of misunderstanding about a month and a half ago and they stopped talking. I-I was thinking maybe you could help me make them be friends again. I really think it’d be best for everyone involved.” Wow. He really had this speech planned out, didn’t he? Wait, what was he talking about again? Oh yeah! Eduard! This was important! Matthew and I could get Eduard and that other guy together!

“Hey hey hey I think Eduard told me about this! He told me about this kid he talked to on his surveying job that he didn’t tell me about. Can you believe that? He got a job without telling me! I’m his _best friend!_ Who even _does_ that?”

“Um, Tino?”

“Oh yeah yeah okay so I was talking to Eduard yesterday after I got him kinda drunk- don’t tell anyone about that by the way, it’s kinda illegal- and he was talking about how much he liked this kid but really he was saying he was in love with him. Well I mean he didn’t say that but I’ve known him for forever so I know what he meant. Please please please tell me that the other guy fell in love with him too so we can hook them up and be their unofficial wingmen. Wait who is the other guy? I never actually asked.” It was strange to think that I had the planned the wedding of my best friend and his soon-to-be-fiancé but I actually had no idea who said fiancé was.

“Um… well, you know Raivis, right?” Matthew asked hesitatingly.

“Raivis? Of course I know him! He’s practically my neighbor- that is, once Berwald asks me to move in with him,” I said happily. “What about him?”

“Um, yeah, I know. I live here too. And, well... Raivis is the guy Eduard’s been talking to on the phone. The one he fell in love with, according to you. And yes, Raivis likes Eduard back.” I could practically see my jaw drop, except for the fact that I couldn’t actually see myself.

“Raivis?! B-but he’s just a kid? Isn’t he twelve or something? He’s Peter’s age! Haa I was right- Eduard _is_ a pedophile! But I can’t wait six whole years for this wedding! Well… hmm, I guess we could go to Holland or something- underage marriage is probably legal there, right? Isn’t everything legal there? Okay, so now I just have to make sure I can set up a wedding in Holland. Hey, and Raivis _does_ look good in maroon! This is fantastic!”

“Um, Tino? Maybe we should focus on actually making them a couple first. Then in a couple years we can talk about a wedding. And, well, Raivis is fifteen. He turns sixteen in like three months. He’s not as young as he looks,” Matthew announced. Oh. Well. That was okay, too. That meant I would only have to wait two years and have the wedding in the US, instead of going through the trouble of moving it to Holland. That would be okay.

“Oh, yeah. Let’s do that. So… um. How are we going to do that?”

“Well, I have an idea. Here’s what we’ll do.”

* * *

 

**Friday, August 13 th. 1:30 p.m.**

I sighed in frustration as I sat in the living room of Peter’s (not really) uncle’s house, which was really Matthew’s house, waiting for Peter to get changed. Considering how many times I had been to the Oxenstierna house before, I was surprised to realize that I had never really noticed Matthew there until I met and became friends with him at school.

Anyways, Peter had showed up at my house and announced that we were going to go to the pool. ‘We’ meaning Peter, Matthew, Berwald, and myself. Peter had then attempted to force me into swimming trunks before I locked him out of my room. Then we left for Berwald and Matthew’s house so that Peter could change since apparently he hadn’t bothered to do so earlier.

Peter, Matthew, Berwald, and I piled into Berwald’s car and we set off for the nearest pool. By the almost-grimace-smile-thing on Berwald’s face, I could only assume we were meeting Tino there. It turned out I was right, because as soon as we parked, Berwald made a beeline for the enthusiastic blonde, who could be spotted by the pool gates.

Peter, too, raced towards the man he called his mum (even though they weren’t related in any way), so Matthew and I had no choice but to follow. Before we could reach their rendezvous point, they walked into the pool area, finally stopping at a table they had apparently claimed beforehand.

As Matthew and I finally caught up to our group, I noticed a fourth person sitting at the table. He was hidden in the shade under the umbrella and hunched behind a laptop. I couldn’t help but watch as he pushed the glasses he was wearing back up the bridge of his nose. Short, scratchy blonde hair fringing narrowed green-blue eyes, a frustrated expression given by scrunched eyebrows- I couldn’t help but like him.

“Eduard! Get off your computer and come socialize! I didn’t drag you out here just so you could hide the whole time!” I heard Tino call- more like nag- to the man at the table. _Eduard?_ Could it be? I knew Tino was friends with him- he had told me as much. But, really? Was he _here_? With _me_?

“I didn’t even want to come here and you know it. I have a huge project due on Monday and I’m going to have to work all weekend to get it done in time. I can’t waste even a moment _socializing_.” He spat the word as if it disgusted him. It was a tone I’d never heard whilst talking to Eduard, but there was no mistaking it. This was _my_ Eduard, my perfect Estonian man. And he was standing right in front of me.

“E-Eduard?” I whispered, so very hesitant. How was I supposed to react, what was I supposed to do? What did I _want_ to do? What would be socially acceptable in this situation? Agh, I’d never be very good at socially acceptable. But… I looked up to see everyone’s eyes locked on me. Including Eduard’s.

“ _Raivis? Is that you?_ ” I scanned his face. He seemed so very surprised, shocked, even. But that was it. No disgust, hatred, or even pity. Quickly deciding it was worth it (because who knew if I would ever have this chance again?) I ran up and hugged him. I was stunned when his arms immediately returned the embrace, holding me up so I was at the same height as him.

I could hear Tino, Matthew, and Peter break into excited conversation about the scene they had just witnessed, but I only dug my face further into Eduard’s shoulder. I didn’t want to see the rest of the world right then. I only wanted to see Eduard. I vaguely felt us moving, and I realized that Eduard was carrying me away from the others, to a more private table.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and Eduard eventually put me down and I had to sit in my own chair where I was no longer touching my perfect Estonian man.

“Eduard- you- but- you stopped calling!” I exclaimed, unable to comprehend my good luck.

“I’m… sorry… that I stopped calling you, but, well… you told me to. I didn’t know what else to do.” Eduard replied. What was he talking about?

“What do you mean? I never told you to stop calling! I didn’t know what to do without you!” I admitted.

“But… you said that you figured I would stop calling once Tino took the survey. I thought that meant that you asked Tino to take the survey so you would have an excuse to not talk to me anymore. I know I’m socially awkward. People don’t really like talking to me, which sucks, considering the job I have. But I thought you didn’t want me to call. So I didn’t. I’d rather be alone and know that you’re happy.” Wow. He… actually cared about me. Like, a lot. That was incredibly comforting.

“I, well, you know me. I was surprised. I was so frustrated when Tino answered. He wasn’t even supposed to be at my house. But he answered the phone and then he told you that you didn’t need to call ever again. I didn’t think I’d ever get to talk to you again.

“I spent the entire weekend waiting, wondering, hoping. I… didn’t know what I would do if you didn’t call back on Monday. But then you did. You called, and it was everything I was hoping for. You hadn’t given up on me, you still wanted me.” I’m slightly ashamed to admit that I was basically crying at this point. Eduard picked me up again and scooted me into his lap. I didn’t mind the crying so much then. “But then everything went wrong again. S-somehow I said the wrong thing. And you were gone again.”

“I’m sorry. I’m here now. I promise.” Eduard whispered, holding me tight.

“Y-you’ve said that before, you know.” I knew it wasn’t his fault, really I did, but I was going to keep seeking reassurance. I’ve never been a very confident guy in that aspect.

“I know, and I meant it, I still do. I-I never meant to let go of you, and I didn’t, not really. We’re just, well… we’re really bad at communicating. You realize that? I like it better now that I can see you. You really are very adorable, Raivis.” I blushed bright red at that. I could feel the blood creeping up my face and into the tips of my ears. Unable to respond, I simply squeaked and buried my face in his shoulder.

“Hey, hon, we should go back to our group. I figure I might as well enjoy being at the pool if you’re here.” Eduard suggested. I couldn’t prevent the grin that split my face as we walked back to where Tino and Berwald seemed to be attempting to cajole each other in the water, quite presumably so that they would each take their shirts off. I giggled. Those two were just too cute together.

As Eduard took off his glasses and shirt as well, I could see why, though. It was hard to think rationally and act sanely when you were in love- especially when you were in love with a perfect Estonian man.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please be patient, and yes, more is coming soon.

**Sunday, August 15 th. 12:30 p.m. Galante Household. **

_Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg!_

“H-hello?”

“Hello, this is Eduard from Louisiana Tech University. I’m calling to take a survey of adorable Latvian boys ages 15 to 16. Is there anyone available I may speak to?” I blinked, once in surprise and then again in excitement. _Friggin’ yes!_ I hadn’t expected him to call on a Sunday, but that was very much okay.

“I-I could take your survey.” I offered shyly.

“Alright. I’m going to ask you a series of questions. All you have to do is answer with yes or no. You may choose to skip questions if you don’t want to answer them. Are you ready?”

“Go ahead.” I said with a smile.

“Okay, first of all, is your favorite color maroon?”

“Yes.” I giggled, blushing a little.

“Do you have a flexible schedule?”

“Yes,” I knew where I wanted this to go, but I wasn’t sure if he would do it.

“Are you romantically interested in men?”

“No.” I could hear the hitch in his breath and smiled evilly. “Just one man. Not men in general.”

“Would you be creeped out by a three year age gap?”

“No.” I smiled at his sigh of relief.

“Are you free on Friday?”

“Yes.”

“Will you go out with me?”

I waited a couple seconds, just to put him on the edge of his seat.

“Yes!”

There was a whoop and some excited applause and I realized that Eduard must have had some sort of audience on his end. The poor man.

“Hey, Eduard?” I began again after a moment.

“Yeah?”

“I thought you said you don’t work on weekends.” I said faux-accusingly.

“That’s the company policy.” He replied.

“And yet?”

“It’s also company to stop calling after a week of no response.”

“What? But then… why did you…?”

“I think it’s safe to say that I’m willing to make exceptions for you. Tall, Russian supervisors be darned.”

I smiled. I had never liked Eduard’s boss anyways.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super short chapter, but it's Tino, so it's worth it. I have the rest coming, so please be patient, and thank you for reading.

**Sunday, August 16 th. 12:30 p.m. Oxenstierna Household. Tino’s POV.**

I held my breath the entire time Eduard was talking to Raivis, and couldn’t prevent the cheer that exploded from me when Raivis accepted. Luckily, I wasn’t the only one to do so.

I had gathered Berwald, Peter, Matthew, Toris (who I had only managed to contact because Peter’s brother Alfred was on debate team with him in high school), Feliks (who had appeared with Toris), and Katyusha (because she was Eduard’s friend) at my (read: Berwald’s) house. Then I had dragged Eduard over and set the Plan in motion.

Matthew and I had spent hours perfecting our Plan the day before. Finally, we came up with a script for Eduard to use, although he protested the notion because apparently it was “weird” and the maroon thing was “unnecessary” but he was wrong. The maroon was _very_ necessary.

Anyways, so we all circled up in the living room like a bunch of teenage girls and glued our eyes to Eduard, who had his cell in one hand and my script in the other. I had to wrestle him a bit to “convince” him to put the cell on speakerphone, but it was an easy victory. Between Matthew and I (both of us excellent hockey players), Eduard never even stood a chance.

And then Raivis said yes! Well, I mean we knew he would, since we knew he liked Eduard and he was facing the romantic eloquence of my script, but it was still great.

And then they were going to go on a date, which was fantastic. Matthew and I had already planned out what they were going to wear (blue and maroon, of course), so we were all ready for Friday (darn Eduard’s job for making me wait a whole week for Dress Up Eduard Day).

But the great thing about the fact that Eduard had asked Raivis out was that it was just one step away from him proposing and therefore asking me to plan their wedding. Sure, it was a large step, but all the same. I just loved weddings, which is why I had Eduard and Raivis’ (as well as mind and Berwald’s) all planned out ahead of time so that they could happen as soon as possible.

Sure, it may be a while before Eduard and Raivis got to that stage, but I honestly believed they would get there, as would Berwald and I. And once I thought about it, Feliks and Toris probably would too. And when they got there, I would be ready to plan _their_ wedding as well. So I just had to find someone for Matthew, right?


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god I'm not super satisfied with this chapter, but oh well. After this is just the epilogue and then we're done.

**Friday, August 20 th. 4:00 p.m. Galante Household. **

_Ding Dong! Ding Dong! Ding Dong Ding Dong Ding Dong!_

I groaned inwardly when the doorbell rang. I was already stressed about my… _date_ … with Eduard. I did _not_ need Peter or someone coming around, prying into my business, and making me nervous. However, I knew there was no way around answering it, so I (very reluctantly) went to open the door.

“Oh my gosh Raivis hi!” Aw, crap. _Feliks._ My brother’s boyfriend stood there on my porch wearing a white sweater and a red plaid skirt, Matthew standing behind him looking sheepishly apologetic. I sighed.

“Hi Feliks. Hi Matthew. What do you want?”

“Well that’s totally, like, really rude. We’re here to, like, help you!” Feliks announced.

“Help? With what? I don’t need any help.” I was confused, and slightly (read: very) worried. It almost sounded like…

“We know about your date!” Yeah. That. Crap.

“Tino and I may or may not have invited everyone over to Eduard’s house to listen when he called you.” Matthew admitted quietly. My eyes widened. The traitor!

“Who, exactly, is included in ‘everyone’?” I growled.

“Um… Tino, Berwald, Peter, Toris, Feliks, Katyusha, and I. Yeah. That’s all.” Matthew listed with a laugh. I sighed.

“You do realize that’s basically everyone I know, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And you’re here _why_ , again?”

“Well. Tino and I planned out what you and Eduard were going to wear on your date. Tino is at Eduard’s house right now getting him dressed and it was my job to get you dressed, but Feliks overheard us and insisted that he come because apparently I can’t even dress myself. According to him, that is.” I resisted the urge to rub my temples in an attempt to ward off the headache I could feel approaching.

“You guys can go, then. I don’t need any help.” I said.

“Like, no way! I am _so_ dressing you up right now! Like, whether you want me to or not!”

In the end, Feliks forced me into far more dresses than I ever could have imagined while Matthew oh-so-cheerfully held me down. They then proceeded to take plenty of pictures of each dress, much to my supreme embarrassment.

After what seemed like forever, Matthew seemed to realize that I was torn between imploding and bursting into tears, so he made Feliks settle down and get out the outfit that I was actually supposed to wear on my date.

To my relief and surprise, it was pretty close to what I would have picked out myself. A dark red shirt, black slacks, and a black tie. And having my clothes provided also told me that we were probably going somewhere a little nicer. That actually made me even more nervous. I would have preferred to go somewhere casual so I could relax. Alas, I didn’t have that option. Thanks, Tino.

All too soon, it was time.

_Ding Dong! Ding Dong!_

I anxiously opened the door and was met with a sight that would have been amusing if I wasn’t so jumpy. A harassed looking Eduard was standing there wearing a similar outfit to mine- the only difference was that his shirt was blue instead of red. Tino and Berwald were standing just off the porch, and Peter could be seen hanging out the window of one of the car in the driveway.

“ _Tere,_ Eduard.” I greeted happily despite the strangeness that our friends surrounded us with.

“ _Sveiki,_ Raivis. I….um. Are you ready to go?” He coughed slightly.

“Sure! But, well, they’re not coming with us, are they?” I didn’t think they would, but you could never be too careful when Tino was involved.

“Not if I have any say in it.” I smiled at that and followed him back to the car. Peter jumped out at a glare from me and we sped off before anyone could say anything. “I’m sure they’re all capable of walking to Berwald’s house. He literally lives four houses away from you.”

“Oh yeah. I kinda forgot about that.” I laughed. “So where are we going?”

“Well, I’m not exactly sure. I had some ideas, but Tino basically insisted that we don’t really get any choices in what we do, as I’m sure was clear, so I didn’t really think about it. At this point, I figure we can toss the ties and go wherever we want. I don’t want to go to some fancy dinner on our first date. If you want to, I suppose that’s fine, but I’m used to just being myself with you and I don’t want that to change.” I blushed at his little speech. Really, how did I find someone so incredibly perfect for me?

“No, that sounds great.” I said. “Perfect, actually.”

We ended up going to a small Greek restaurant, which was actually very nice. We talked and laughed and I could almost forget everything and imagine that it was a dream, but each little touch from Eduard grounded me, assured me that no, this was real. This was my life, which had taken such a surreal turn in that past week.

After dinner we returned to my house, since it was already getting dark outside. Eduard suggested that we could go to a movie on the next Friday, and I agreed rather enthusiastically. I’m sure I would’ve agreed to anything he suggested we do together, but I don’t think he knew that.

It was only when we were walking up the steps to my porch that I began my panic cycle again. What was going to happen? W-would he kiss me? Did I _want_ him to kiss me? I almost snorted at that. _Of course_ I wanted him to kiss me. B-but I had never really kissed or been kissed before. If he did kiss me, would he be disappointed? I didn’t know what to do!

“D-do you w-want to come in f-for a little w-while?” I stuttered. Oh, gosh, I was _stuttering_. I mean, sure, I _always_ stuttered when I was nervous and should have expected it but couldn’t something be easy for me at least once? No, of course not.

“I’d love to, but I can’t.” Eduard replied. I frowned a little. So he apparently found out that he didn’t like me as much as he thought he did, so I would never see him again after this. Despite our shared friends, he would avoid me as much as possible and I would be too embarrassed after being rejected and I’d never hear his wonderful Estonian voice ever again. “My dad gave me a curfew because he doesn’t understand what it’s like to have a social life- although, granted, neither do I- so I’d better get home. I would love to do this again sometime though.”

“O-oh.” Well. That was a relief. “Alright then.”

“Um, Raivis?” He began again. Crap crap crap what was he going to say?

“Yeah?” I tried to sound calm, but goodness it didn’t work. My voice was shaking- actually, _everything_ was shaking and I knew if he didn’t say the right thing I was going to start crying simply from all the built up pressure.

“Can… Can I? ... Can I kiss you?” My brain just shut down. What was even happening? Did he… did he just ask _permission_? Oh, but that must mean he _wanted_ to!

“ _What?_ ” I couldn’t stop my mouth from blurting out the most ineloquent thing I could have possibly said at that moment. I turned bright red.

“Oh. I-I’m sorry. I just… I don’t know. I … well, never mind then. I guess I’ll be going now.” He gave me a strained smile and turned to walk away. Wait, what? Why was he leaving? He hadn’t kissed me yet! That wasn’t fair!

“Where are you going? Eduard? D-do you not want to… to kiss me?” I couldn’t just let him _leave!_

“What? Raivis… of course I want to kiss you.” And then we were _both_ blushing furiously. “I just thought… that you wouldn’t want me to.” Oh. Well. He was very wrong about that.

“N-no… it’s okay.” I replied softly, embarrassed.

“Are you sure?” Eduard asked. “I don’t want you to say that just because you feel like you have to.”

“No, really. I… I _want_ you to.” Gosh, could this be any more humiliating?

“Alright then.” He murmured. “Come here.”

I shuffled to the edge of the porch, opting to stay on the step to make life as easy as possible. Eduard smiled at that as he closed the distance between our bodies and wrapped his arms around my waist. I leaned into his strength and nuzzled my face into his shoulder. Gently, he lifted my chin and our lips met.

Wow. I hadn’t known what to expect. But whatever miniscule beliefs I might have held in some dark corner of my mind were blown away. Eduard was perfect, and he had given me a perfect moment that I would hold onto forever. We separated after only a few moments, which was okay because it was our first kiss and I was sure there would be others to follow.

“Thank you, Raivis.” Eduard whispered as he finally pulled away. “And goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” I breathed as he walked back down my sidewalk. “Eduard?” I called hesitantly.

“Yeah?” he asked, turning to face me one last time.

“Call me?”

“Of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to note that in this story, there is a 15 inch (38 cm) height gap between Eduard and Raivis in this story. The average stair step is about 7 inches (18 cm), so if Raivis stands on the step, there is still an 8 inch (20 cm) difference for them to make up.


	8. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this all the way to the end! I hope you enjoyed the story, and thank you guys for your support.   
> I will go back and fix some of this later when I have more time, so suggestions are still appreciated.

**December 20 th. Oxenstierna Household.**

“Present time! Present time!” I smiled as Tino’s voice drifted in through the door, his bright red face appearing a moment later. He had just gotten back from a last minute butter run. We had halted the cookie-making process in the general absence of butter, but it was clear that Tino’s thoughts were on a different track.

“…No, T’no. Yah g’tta m’ke thah cookies f’rst.” Berwald muttered, still managing to look stern in his IKEA baking apron and oven mitts. Tino pouted and Berwald’s resolve visibly crumbled. “…Or at least p’t them in thah ‘ven b’fore pr’sents.” He amended. Tino quickly brightened and gave his taller boyfriend a kiss on the cheek before scurrying to get the cookies in the oven so that we could all open presents.

Matthew had brought along his boyfriend due to Tino’s rather forcible request, though at the time none of us knew he even had a boyfriend. Berwald had apparently suspected for a while, as he said that Matthew had been out of the house more often than usual. Tino confirmed the theory after spotting the German teen at one of their hockey practices.

We had all been wary when the albino knocked harshly on the door, Matthew standing behind him timidly. With his poisonous grin and sharp humor, it was hard to tell what Matthew saw in the narcissist. But when Tino ushered the pair in, we all saw the way Gilbert stepped back and waited for Matthew to enter before him. At first it seemed like he was pushing Matthew around endlessly, but if we looked closer, we could see how Gilbert always glanced at Matthew, deferring to him in everything, making sure he wasn’t pushing the boundaries. We could see the way his entire attitude softened when he turned towards his younger boyfriend. It was clear that they were good for each other.

Everyone but Tino and Berwald filed into the living room and sat down on the carpeted floor beneath an overly decorated Christmas tree. Toris stretched out in front of the fireplace and placed his head in Feliks’ lap and allowed his boyfriend to calmly pet and stroke his hair, occasionally placing a ribbon in strategic places.

Gilbert tucked Matthew against his side as they leaned against the couch, glaring at us for a moment, clearly expecting someone to protest. Nobody did, and he quickly relaxed, nuzzling his face into Matthew’s hair. I smiled and pressed further into Eduard’s chest from my spot in his lap. We were all comfortable, cozy, and happy.

Tino bounded back into the living room, presumably having put the cookie dough in the oven. Berwald followed at a more sedate pace, sans apron. We all knew better than to try and help Tino with the distribution of presents, instead relaxing back reveling in the warmth of friends and family.

I heard a low chuckle vibrate against me before Eduard’s arms wrapped around my waist. I squirmed a little, trying to twist around and see what elicited the sound, only to find Eduard suppressing a guilty smile and hiding something behind his back.

“What is it?” I demanded. “What did you get?” Eduard just shook his head and tossed something to Matthew. It looked like a… photo album? And, sure enough, Matthew began flipping through the pages, holding it up a little so that Gilbert could view the content within. I strained to see it from my spot as they cooed over the pictures, but Eduard held me tight to his lap. Matthew giggled a little before passing the album on to Toris, who smiled slightly as Feliks pointed out a few details to him.

“You’re not going to be happy about this, Raivis.” Toris laughed, handing the album to Tino, who had plopped down across Berwald’s lap once the presents were all handed out. Tino squealed in delight once he caught sight of whatever the album contained.

“I didn’t know you did this, Feliks! This is great! Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I wanted it to be, like, a surprise, or something. And it totally worked! Like, nobody had any idea!” Feliks replied. Tino looked up with a smile that scared me a little before tossing me the photo album. Eduard lurched forward in protest, but I snatched it out of the air, determined to find out what it contained.

All the blood drained from my face in horror before rushing right back up with a wave of red hot embarrassment, making me feel a little dizzy. The photo album was full of shots taken from every angle of me when Feliks had forced me to wear all those dresses before my first date.

It was such a humiliating incident, and as much as I tried to block it from my memory, I could remember every dress and skirt in vivid detail. Neither Feliks nor Matthew had mentioned it in the months since then, so I thought I was safe. Turned out I was wrong.

Overcome by mortification, I turned to bury my face in Eduard’s shoulder, despite the fact that he was still laughing at me. The oven timer went off and Tino jumped up to get it. We all held our breath in anticipation. Tino’s cooking was generally pretty… unpredictable- a hit or miss sort of deal.

The oven door creaked open, followed by a frustrated wail, and we all flinched. Berwald shooed us towards the door to play in the snow while he righted the cookie situation. We split into two teams for a snowball fight- Toris, Matthew, and Eduard on one side and Feliks, Gilbert, and I on the other. Soon, Tino came trudging out to join us, looking for all the world like a kicked puppy. He joined our team, luckily. Tino was a boss when it came to snowball fights.

After a while, Berwald came out to announce that the cookies had been salvaged, and we managed to drag him into the game. I was momentarily distracted by the phone ringing inside the house, but the battle quickly reclaimed my attention as Feliks pushed me across the border, sending me careening into the enemy's fort. I grinned as Eduard gently picked me up and brushed me off. The phone could wait. 


End file.
